


Over the Moon (An Aegean Holiday)

by sal_si_puedes



Series: Schmoopy Boat Verse [2]
Category: Suits (US TV)
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Gibraltar!verse, Gift Fic, M/M, Schmoop, Smut, birthday fic, schmoopy boat fic, time stamp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-20
Updated: 2018-06-20
Packaged: 2019-05-26 02:16:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14990582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sal_si_puedes/pseuds/sal_si_puedes
Summary: Mike and Harvey go on a sailing holiday in the Aegean. A lot of sailing, sight seeing, eating, drinking and love making happens. Basically, this is a giant heap of fluff and smut and schmoop.This is set in theSchmoopy Boat Fic!verse (aka Gibraltar!verse)and it takes place between chapter 15 and the epilogue. You don't need to know shit aboutGibraltarthough (even though I'd recommend you read it first), this can be read as a stand-alone.





	Over the Moon (An Aegean Holiday)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lawsonpines13](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=lawsonpines13).



> For my lovely muse and bff [lawsonpines13](http://lawsonpines13.tumblr.com/) \- happy birthday, my darling!!!

_Happy is the man, I thought, who, before dying, has the fortune to sail the Aegean sea._  
[Nikos Kazantzakis] 

*****

„We should have brought the _Cassidy_ ,” Mike says, narrowing his eyes against the bright Mediterranean sun. He blinks a couple of times before he pulls his sunglasses from the pocket of his shirt and puts them on.

“It would have taken us weeks to get her here, Mike. You know that. And that after we just have her back in the Hamptons. You gotta give her a break. Plus, I’m sure the boat Captain Constantinides has reserved for us will be just as good. Nice and seaworthy.”

“No boat is as good.” A grin spreads on Mike’s face as he turns around and takes a step closer. “Which is exactly why we brought her back home with us. You know that.”

“True,” Harvey smiles back, tilting his head. “But as long as I have you with me…” His smile broadens, and Mike shakes his head. “As far as I’m concerned, every boat that has you on it is a good boat.”

“Sap.” 

Harvey reaches around Mike’s waist and pulls him close.

“Never.” His lips brush over Mike as lightly as the soft wind coming from the sea and caresses their skin like gentle touch. “This is gonna be great.”

“Yeah,” Mike smiles against Harvey’s lips. “It is.”

“Come on, then, rookie,” Harvey breaks the kiss after a couple of seconds. “The Aegean is waiting.”

*****

Captain Constantinides has a beautiful boat for them, an elegant Jeanneau Sun Odyssey with some nice extras such as a build-in shower and a slightly more spacious master cabin, a boat by the name of _Selene_ , and Mike keeps narrating the myth surrounding the moon goddess and, foremost and above all, her love for Endymion all through their inspection of their sailing home for the next weeks. 

“Imagine,” he says, and he feels as excited as a young boy on the first day of those endless summer holidays, no school for weeks and weeks and nothing but adventures ahead, “just imagine if the sun was your brother and dawn was your sister. And just imagine if the man you loved had fallen into an eternal sleep…”

It looks as if Harvey can’t help but smile. He says it’s wonderful to see Mike so excited, so happy. When they’d first made their plans for this cruise, Mike had fallen silent every now and then, biting his lips and a distinct look of worry on his brow. And each and every one of those times Harvey had been tempted to call the whole thing off, to tell Mike that they didn’t have to go through with it, not if he was feeling that anxious about this. In the end, though, he hadn’t suggested they cancel their trip. He had just smiled at Mike or placed his hand on Mike’s arm, and within seconds, the clouds had lifted and Mike had been the sun again.

Just like now. 

“When are we going to set sail?” Mike bubbles, sticking his head in one of the closets in the master cabin. “I can’t wait to see Santorini. Did I tell you I’ve never been?”

“Many times,” Harvey grins and catches Mike before he can run up the stairs again and onto the deck. “And soon. But first I want to explore Iraklio a little. And you,” he adds, wrapping his arms around Mike. “And I want to explore _you_.”

“You already know me,” Mike murmurs against Harvey’s lips, and for a short moment, Harvey captures Mike’s lower lip between his teeth. Mike moans. “Inside and out.”

“Not like this,” Harvey kisses a fiery trail along Mike’s jaw and down his throat. “Not here, not like this.”

Mike tilts his head back and closes his eyes. They’re both already beginning to grow hard in their pants, and the captain is still outside and somewhere nearby, waiting for their approval so they can close the contract for the boat and have their luggage brought aboard. 

“I thought we could walk around town for a bit, see the acropolis. Or maybe rent car and drive to Knossos, see the palace. Don’t you want to see the palace,” Harvey murmurs when Mike cups his face and pulls his mouth away from the small hollow below Mike’s Adam’s apple.

“Yeah,” Mike nods, trying to catch his breath. “Later.” He crushes their mouths against each other and pushes one leg between Harvey’s. His cock twitches, and Harvey moans into their kiss. “First I want this.”

Harvey tries to withdraw but Mike is having none of that. His hands slide down Harvey’s back and begin to pull his shirt from his trousers. Harvey’s skin is soft and warm and it feels almost as good as it tastes.

“Mike,” Harvey whispers, tilting his head to give Mike’s lips better access to his throat. 

“Hmmmhmmmm….”

“Mike…”

“God, you taste amazing,” Mike murmurs, tracing the vein at the side of Harvey’s throat with the tip of his tongue. “I want you so much… God, I can’t wait—”

“Mike.”

Harvey grabs Mike’s shoulders and takes a deep breath. “Give me a minute. I’ll sign the contract and they can bring our luggage aboard later, when we’re out. I’ll be right back, I promise.”

“Shit.”

Mike takes a small step backwards, his eyes a little foggy and unfocused for a moment. He runs his fingers through his hair and squeezes his eyes shut. “I just can’t keep my hands off of you,” he smiles, opening them again. 

Harvey is still standing there, like a goddamn Greek statue, smiling at him a little sheepishly, a very prominent bulge in his pants. “Yeah, me neither.”

“You can’t go up like this,” Mike grins, and Harvey’s eyes dart to his crotch and he shrugs. 

“Why not?”

“Go,” Mike gestures towards the stairs when Harvey keeps standing there, staring at him. “Hurry. I’m not getting any younger here.”

“Patience, rookie,” Harvey says, straightening his pants and smoothing his palms down the front of his untucked shirt. “Patience…”

“Not my strongest suit,” Mike yells after him, and responds to Harvey’s murmured “Don’t I know that?” with a mock-offended _“Hey!!”_ before he shakes his head and takes his t-shirt off, smiling. He looks around the cabin while he unbuckles his belt and unbuttons his jeans, and his smile broadens. This is a beautiful boat and this is going to be an amazing trip, starting right now.

It takes Harvey a little over ten minutes to return below deck, and by that time Mike is lying in the middle of the bed, half propped up against the wall at the head, naked, and his fingers are loosely wrapped around his rock-hard cock. When he hears Harvey climbing down the stairs, he slows his movements and bites his lips.

The sun is still tangled up in Harvey’s hair when he steps into the cabin, and Mike can’t wait to taste the slight hint of salt on Harvey’s lips. He lets his eyes flutter shut and arches his back a little, almost involuntarily. His fingers feel really good and he has been teasing himself to a state of constant arousal ever since Harvey has left to finish things up with Captain Constantinides.

When his eyes open again, they meet Harvey’s, and there is such a fire in them it causes Mike to moan. As if in slow motion, Harvey places his sunglasses on the shelf by the cabin’s door, his eyes never leaving Mike’s. He licks his lips, and Mike’s cock twitches against his palm.

“Oh god,” Mike moans as a drop of pre-come rolls down his crown and over his fingers. He grabs himself a little harder and speeds up his strokes again.

For a moment, Harvey seems to be torn between two options, but then his eyes narrow a little and he straightens his back.

“Stop.”

Mike’s hand stills and has let go of his cock before his brain can even process what Harvey has said, and his eyes fly open.

“What?”

Harvey licks his lips again, and Mike’s stomach lurches. 

“Do you want to come like that?”

_“Yeah?”_

Mike doesn’t really understand Harvey’s question. Why _is_ there even a question with his entire skin tingling like that and Harvey’s eyes are on him as if he were something really, really delicious. Of course, he wants to come like this, and going by the way his cock swells even more under Harvey’s gaze, as soon as possible, too.

“You’re sure? Not in my mouth?”

“Well…” Mike’s fingers were just about to close around his cock once more to resume their ministrations, but now they open again, as if in slow-motion and as if on their own accord. Mike’s eyes drop to his straining erection and dart from there to Harvey’s glistening lips. “If you—”

“Or while I’m buried deep inside you?”

Mike swallows thickly, a fresh wave of arousal surging inside of him. “I—”

“Or,” Harvey cuts in again and takes a step closer to the bed. “Or while _you_ are buried deep inside of _me_?”

“Oh god…” 

Without taking his eyes off of Mike, Harvey starts to unbutton his shirt, and when he slips out of it and toes his shoes off, Mike can’t take it anymore. His fingers close and the friction they cause against his already over-sensitized cock makes his breath catch in his throat.

“I think like this is just fine,” he murmurs and begins to move his hand again, as slowly as he can. “I think…”

In one swift movement, Harvey pushes down his pants and his boxer briefs and when he straightens again, there is no doubt left in Mike’s mind that Harvey is just as aroused as he is. His cock is dark and hard and beautiful and it jerks when Harvey looks up. 

“Don’t you dare,” he huffs and only a blink of an eye later he’s on the bed right beside Mike and his fingers are closing around Mike’s, squeezing tight and stopping Mike’s hand from moving. “Don’t you dare…”

He kisses Mike breathless, his lips hungry and hot and his fingers everywhere, teasing Mike, caressing him, arousing him beyond belief, opening him up and getting him ready. 

When Mike is loose enough and when Harvey has made sure that Mike’s entrance as well as his cock are generously covered with lube, he rolls onto his back and pulls Mike on top of him. 

“Come on, up,” he coaxes, and Mike raises to his knees, straddling Harvey just the way Harvey likes it. Mike reaches for Harvey’s cock and brings its tip to his entrance. He pauses for a short moment and then he lowers himself, taking Harvey in bit by tantalizing bit until he’s fully buried inside of Mike’s tight heat.

“God, I love this,” Mike murmurs, raking his fingers down Harvey’s chest and stomach, drawing a long shiver from Harvey’s body. “I love this, I love this, I love this…” He flexes his hips and he can feel Harvey swell inside of him, his own cock hard against his lower stomach and his skin already a little sticky with pre-come. “I love this so much I could die.”

Harvey bites his lips and arches his back, and then he rolls his hips a little, entering Mike even deeper.

“Oh, fuck…” Mike throws his head back and squeezes his eyes shut. “Oh my god…” He tries to even out his breathing, and when Harvey’s hand finds his, when Harvey’s fingers entwine with his, he nods. “So fucking much…”

Harvey shifts a little and then he sits up, maneuvering Mike around in his lap until Mike’s legs wrap around him and he can bury his nose against Mike’s throat.

“Hmmmmmmmmm…” He hums against Mike’s sweaty skin, and Mike can feel him grin at the reaction the vibrations of his voice causes.

Mike flexes his hips just the tiniest bit and the sensation of Harvey moving so deep inside of him makes him gasp. 

Harvey’s hips answer the movements of Mike’s until they have established a slow, lazy rhythm so subtle it’s barely there. 

“I want you to fuck me raw tonight,” Mike whispers against Harvey’s forehead after what seems like hours of that incredibly intense connection and when he is sure he can’t take it a second longer, and the guttural sound Harvey makes in response to that goes straight to his cock. “Tonight, when we come back here, I want you to fuck me so hard I see stars… Until there’s nothing left of me, nothing but you.”

Harvey draws him closer against his chest, and Mike can feel how a stream of pre-come pours from his cock. He’s been on the edge for so long that his whole body is wired with need. 

“I want—” Mike gaps when Harvey’s fingers dig into the muscles of his back. “I want that. I want—”

A violent tremble runs through Harvey’s entire body, and for a second Harvey seems to burst with tension. The moan that falls from his lips as he spills himself deep inside of Mike pushes Mike over the edge as well, and he comes between their bodies, hot and sticky and so very, very rewarding, so sweet and painful he can’t help but close his eyes and let himself be swept away by the sheer intimacy of it. 

Harvey holds him close as he comes down, his hands caressing Mike’s back with soft but firm touches and his lips tracing lazy patterns on Mike’s shoulder.

When Mike can think clearly again, he straightens his back a bit and opens his eyes. Harvey looks up, and Mike cups his face in his hands and places a soft, sloppy kiss on Harvey’s lips.

“Can we go see the palace now?” He asks, feeling how Harvey almost slips from his body. 

“Sure thing,” Harvey says, lifting Mike a little by the hips. “But let’s grab a quick shower first.”

*****

Harvey puts his arm around Mike’s shoulders once they’re left the city of Iraklio, steering the car with just one hand, and Mike simply can’t stop smiling.

“Do you remember when we drove to see Jebel Mousa and the cave of Hercules, back when we rented that car in Tangier?” He tilts his head a little, letting his cheek brush over the soft sleeve of Harvey’s linen shirt. 

“’Course,” Harvey replies and places a quick kiss on the crown of Mike’s head before he turns his attention back to the road. “You wouldn’t shut up,” he adds. “You kept talking and talking and—”

“You loved it,” Mike grins and looks up to cast a glance at Harvey’s face. Harvey is grinning behind his sunglasses, and his smile feels as warm on Mike’s face as the bright afternoon sun. He scoots a little closer and nestles in in Harvey’s arm, his head resting in that nook of Harvey’s shoulder. “Because you love me.”

“More than anything,” Harvey says gently, giving Mike’s arm a little squeeze. “Except perhaps those tapas at Hacienda Pata— _Oy!_ ”

Mike is grinning against Harvey’s shoulder around the little wet patch his playful bite has just left there. “You love me more than anything.”

“Yeah,” Harvey says and slows the car down a little when they approach the spot where they have to turn right just a little outside of Kallithea. The road becomes narrower and dustier, and Mike closes his eyes, humming along happily to a song that is playing on the radio. “I do… Hey,” Harvey gives him a soft nudge. “Don’t fall asleep. It’s just a couple of minutes.”

“Hmmmm,” Mike makes and snuggles closer. “I was just thinking how worried Ariadne would have had to be when Thesseus went into the labyrinth. I mean, she must have thought he’d probably never come out. I mean, her thread wouldn’t have been of much use if the Minotaur had gotten to him before he even had a chance to…”

Mike’s words first slow and then completely fade away, and he stifles a yawn. “I can still feel you, you know, inside of me…” is the last thing he murmurs before he drifts off.

He can’t have slept more than a couple of minutes when Harvey gently kisses him awake.

“Hey,” Harvey whispers. “Hey, sleepyhead. We’re there.”

Mike can feel his face turning into a smile before he even opens his eyes. “Hey,” he murmurs, his voice slightly slurry. “Why’d you let me fall asleep?”

Harvey chuckles. “Come on. The palace won’t be here forever.”

“It has been here for, what? _Thousands of years?_ It can wait a little longer.” Mike straightens a bit and reaches for Harvey’s face, pulling him close. “I want a wake-up kiss first.”

Harvey’s lips are warm and they taste of sun and salt and a little of the road they’ve just driven up, and Mike feasts on them for a few precious moments before he breaks the kiss, glassy-eyed and a little out of breath. His eyes drop down to his lap for a split second and he grins. “I think I need a minute before I can get out of the car.”

Harvey grins and ruffles Mike’s hair before he straightens his back and opens the door on his side. “Okay,” he says, climbing out of the car. “Give me the facts again.”

It’s just a short way from the parking lot to the archeological site, and when they step through the entrance, Mike is already deep in his guide mode. He rattles of dates and measurements and leads Harvey from one place to another, pointing out various features and elements of the ancient palace structure. 

The sun is not as high in the sky anymore and though it is still pretty warm, the wind from the sea still reaches the large plateau the site is located on. Harvey looks absolutely amazing in those faded jeans and that loose-fitting white linen shirt, top three buttons undone, and with those sunglasses and that slight sheen of sweat on his skin. In between Mike’s telling Harvey about the water management by aqueducts and then by gravity feed though terracotta pipes to fountains and spigots, Harvey stops in his tracks and chuckles. 

“What?” Mike stops as well and frowns. Harvey is just standing there, looking at him, with a slightly bemused look on his face. “Oh, come on. You know I’ve read about it and looked at the guide’s maps. You can’t tell me that this still surprises you.”

“It doesn’t surprise me,” Harvey says after a short pause and takes a small step closer to where Mike is standing. He lowers his voice and leans in a little. “It just makes me think of the… request you had earlier today. About what you’d want me to do with you tonight.”

“Shit,” Mike hisses, when Harvey’s words go straight to his groin. “Don’t distract me. We’re going to do this properly and then we’re going to drive back to Iraklio and explore the town, just like you wanted to, and then we’ll have dinner and then—”

“So hard you pass out,” Harvey murmurs and licks his lips. 

Mike’s cock twitches a little, and Mike bites his lips. “Oh god…”

Harvey takes a deep breath and straightens his back. “So, you were saying…”

Mike closes his eyes and draws a shaky breath. “Let’s go back to the boat.”

Harvey’s smile shines brighter than the Cretan sun, and he tilts his head just the tiniest bit when he adjusts his sunglasses. “Yeah, let’s.”

Even though the traffic is a bit thicker on their way back into the city – Mike muses if maybe everyone in a twenty-mile radius is heading to Iraklio for dinner – they make it back to the boat in time for a quick shower and for a quick, yet very satisfying blow-job afterwards. It’s all Mike lets Harvey do, he really, really wants to explore the town a little before they have dinner. 

Harvey tries to talk Mike into visiting the Archeological Museum, but even though he knows that it’s supposed to be quite good, Mike shakes his head.

“I’d still be in there by the time you set sails tomorrow,” he grins, and just the slightest touch of regret swings in his words. “And Iraklio to Santorini is a little too long of a leg for you to sail on your own.” His eyes narrow a bit and he shakes his head again. “No, let’s do that another time. Let’s just walk around town for an hour or so and then grab a bite to eat. I want an early night before the sail tomorrow.”

And that’s just what they do – they stroll along the streets of downtown Iraklio for a while before they sit down at one of the taverns by the water for dinner, Kastella, and even though the street between the restaurant itself and the seats by the sea is a bit busy, the atmosphere feels both intimate and joyously alive, and their waiter Kostas is friendly and attentive and very eager to indulge Mike’s endeavors to try the phases of Greek he has picked up during their preparation of their trip.

Mike has the _dakos_ as his starter and the vibrant fragrancy of the tomatoes, the herbs and the Cretan cheese makes it almost possible for him to ignore the _chochlioi boubouristi_ , the fried snails in red wine, that Harvey is having. 

Harvey keeps shoving his fork in Mike’s face, trying to make him eat one of those atrocities, but Mike puts an end to that with a very serious threat. “If you do that one more time, I _will_ go to the Archeological Museum. Now.”

Harvey just grins and orders two more glasses of _raki_.

For their entrées they choose _lamb stamnagathi_ with _avgolemono_ , a lemon-egg-sauce, that Mike has to admit really is like a sex party in your mouth (Harvey), and incredibly juicy _kotopoulo_ with _gamopilafo_ , chicken with the traditional Cretan wedding rice dish that Harvey keeps teasing him about (Mike), and when they’re finished, they share deliciously sweet _loukoumades_ for dessert and take some _pite_ with them to the boat as snacks for their sail tomorrow.

When they’re in bed, Harvey opens his arms and Mike settles in on his side, snuggling up against Harvey’s chest. The small waves in the harbor gently rock the _Selene_ in her berth, and Mike places a soft kiss close to Harvey’s nipple.

“You ready for tomorrow?” Harvey asks, burying his nose in Mike’s hair and tightening his embrace a little. 

“Yeah,” Mike says, and when he nods, the soft hairs on Harvey’s chest caress his cheek. “Yeah, I am.” He lets his eyes flutter shut, yawns and nods once more, just for good measure.

“Good,” Harvey says after a short pause and kisses Mike’s hair again. “Now, let’s get some sleep.”

Harvey kisses him awake the next morning a little before sunrise and they have amazing coffee and some rich, sweet pastries for a quick breakfast that Harvey conjures up from what seems to Mike like thin air while he’s in the shower. 

They set sails half an hour after sunrise when their last preparations for the first leg of their cruise are complete. It will take them around twelve to thirteen hours to reach Santorini, and the sight of Harvey’s hair being lightly moved by the soft morning breeze as they steer the _Selene_ out of the marina is all the motivation and all the incentive Mike might still have needed to brave this endeavour.

“Come on, let’s do this,” he shouts at Harvey, who is standing behind the wheel. He reaches up to untie the ropes binding the main sail to the boom and squints a little against the rising sun. “Dinner in Santorini.”

“Dinner in Santorini,” Harvey echoes, and their eyes lock for a brief moment. “Aye, aye, Captain!”

*****

The winds are fair and kind and swift, and, as it seems, in their favor, so it takes them a little less than the estimated thirteen hours to reach Santorini, or, more precisely, the marina Vlychada on the southern coast. As soon as they come in reach, they radio the harbormaster and confirm their arrival. Minas Kafieris repeats the caveats and the instructions for entering the marina they’ve read online before, and as Harvey steers the _Selene_ through the narrow fairway, Mike is glad that they’ve prepared this trip so thoroughly. He steals a quick sideway glance at Harvey, and though Harvey appears to be at ease and in control, Mike can see the underlying tension. This is no maneuver for beginners.

When they make the turn into the marina, it becomes evident why making a reservation here is recommended. The marina is full almost to the last place, there are sailing yachts and motor boats and several catamarans ready to take groups of tourists on sundowner tours to the caldera. There’s a light and busy atmosphere in the air, and from one minute to the next the lingering exhaustion Mike has been feeling for the last two or three hours is completely gone.

As soon as they’ve moored and connected the _Selene’s_ facilities to electricity and water, they check in with harbormaster Kafieris, who recommends taverna Dimitris for dinner, tells them that they can rent a car there as well, but that they shouldn’t let the old cutthroat pull them over the barrel, which he most definitely will try, he should know, the old cutthroat has been married to his sister Sophia for over twenty years now, so, yeah, he should know, and he does, and they’d better be careful.

After a quick shower they head for dinner on Dimitri’s patio, calamari and a plate of small fried, crispy fish with lots of lemon juice and a mixed salad with _feta_ for starters and grilled _tsipoura_ , gilthead, with vegetables for their main course, and, of course, _raki_ and wine, and then, to top it off, coffee and some sweets for dessert. 

“I want to go up the mountain tomorrow,” Mike says when they wait for Dimitri to bring them the bill. “Fira, and maybe we can hike along the mountain ridge to Oia as well. I know it’s cheesy and touristy, but I’d like to see the view over the caldera.”

Harvey nods. There’s a small smile playing around his lips, and even though his eyes look a little tired, there’s a happiness in them that warms Mike’s heart.

Mike quickly glances around and reaches for Harvey’s hand. He gives it a firm squeeze and bites his lips. “I love you, you know that, right? So very, very much…”

Harvey’s smile broadens and he returns the squeeze. “Yeah, I know that. And, for the record, the feeling is mutual.”

Mike takes a deep breath and gives Harvey’s hand a final squeeze before he lets go and straightens his back. 

“You want to take a little walk around or head right back to the _Selene_?” 

Harvey’s eyes search Mike’s face for a moment before he answers. “Let’s head back to the boat. We can have a glass of _raki_ on deck and watch the cats come in from their tours for a little while. Okay?”

“Okay,” Mike nods, grateful, looking at their temporary home at the marina just a short distance away. “I’ll admit that I am a little tired, so I could use a quiet evening in.”

“Well, we’ll see about the quiet part,” Harvey grins, and when Dimitri arrives with the bill and two more glasses of _raki_ , he gives Mike a look that Mike can only describe as smoldering. And why does he have to lick his lips like that after he’s downed the _raki_? Mike can feel his cock stir in his pants, and a warm wave of arousal floods through his body.

“Did I mention that I’m tired?” He says, smacking his lips as well. 

“I’ll be happy to do all the work, then,” Harvey grins. “Fuck you to sleep.”

“You’d do that,” Mike shakes his head and rises from his chair. He stretches and stifles a yawn.

“I _have_ done that,” Harvey murmurs into Mike’s ear as they make their way off the patio, his hand just hovering at the small of Mike’s back. “Remember?”

“Parts of it,” Mike grins, and Harvey raises his eyebrows. “ _What?_ I _did_ fall asleep at some point. How am I supposed to remember something that happened while I was asleep?”

“I’ll show you,” Harvey says, and he pulls Mike into his arms as soon as they are below deck to get the bottle of _raki_ they’ve brought from Crete and the glasses.

“Why don’t you show me right now?” Mike catches Harvey’s mouth in a hungry kiss, but Harvey breaks it after a couple of moments, cupping Mike’s face with one hand, the other still on the small of Mike’s back.

“Come on,” he says softly, letting his thumb brush over Mike’s lips. “Let’s sit outside for a little while. Watch the ships.”

As soon as they’ve settled in at the table in the hull, Mike knows that Harvey is right. He’s still far too wound up to go to bed, their long cruise from Crete still humming in his veins. He’s tired, but there’s no way he’d fall asleep just now, not even after making love.

“It’s beautiful,” he says, letting his eyes wander over the boats in the marina, the glittering water and the open sea in the distance. 

“Yeah, it is,” Harvey says, and when Mike turns his head again, he finds Harvey’s eyes fixed on him.

The stars are glittering in the velvet sky above them like millions and millions of diamonds, and the goddess of the moon, Selene, is shining down on them. Mike couldn’t be happier. He leans back against Harvey’s chest, takes a deep breath, inhaling Harvey’s intoxicating scent, and closes his eyes.

*****

Santorini is breathtakingly beautiful by daylight as well, and Mike is still in a slightly dreamy state when they leave to explore the island the following morning. He can still feel the way Harvey was moving inside of him when he was falling asleep last night and he can still feel Harvey moving inside of him when he was waking up just two hours ago.

Harvey’s caresses had been gentle yet purposeful, and Mike had felt like sliding from one climax into another and then into the next, his entire being swept away by the sheer joy and utter satisfaction of Harvey claiming him for his own. The sense of belonging, of not only their bodies, but also their hearts and souls becoming one, fills Mike to the very brim as they drive to Fira and walk all the way up to the white houses and blue-domed churches on top of the mountain. 

Maybe that’s why he can’t take his eyes off of the couples in wedding dresses and suits lining up up there to have their photographs taken at that one special spot in town with that particularly spectacular view.

“Must be strange,” he murmurs, blinking against the early midday sun. 

“What?” Harvey steps up close behind him, and even though they don’t quite touch, Mike can feel the warmth Harvey is radiating, and Harvey’s slow, even breaths are stroking down the nape of Mike’s neck, slipping underneath his shirt and down the length of his spine.

“Having your wedding pictures taken like that. With all those people watching and a queue behind you. I mean, it is beautiful here, of course, and the view is great, but…”

“Hmmmmm?” Harvey hums, and along with the vibrations of Harvey’s voice, a wave of pleasure washes over Mike’s body. “What do you mean?”

“It’s not even their wedding day in most cases,” Mike says after a short pause. 

“So, you wouldn’t want that, hmm?”

“No,” Mike shakes his head. “I’d want a picture, but not the next day or two days later. I’m more of the candid kind of guy anyway, so…” He tilts his head and surreptitiously fishes for Harvey’s hand behind his back. He catches it in his for a moment and gives it a quick squeeze before he lets go again. “No, I wouldn’t want that.”

They hike the cliff-side trail to the village of Oia shortly after that where they grab a delicious late lunch on the rooftop of a meze bar owned by a former banker from Athens, Pantelis, and his childhood friend Takis, before they take a stroll around town and then hike back in the direction of Fira. Since it is a little earlier than they’d expected, they decide to take a little detour and visit the Vassaltis vineyard and winery afterwards. The wines they try are outstanding, and Harvey has two crates sent to their condo in New York and they take one with them to the _Selene_ right away because it turns out that there is a shuttle service from the vineyard to Fira, where they’ve left the car, that they’re able to book short notice.

Mike falls asleep in the car on their drive back to the marina, and Harvey wakes him by gently ruffling his hair once they’ve arrived.

“Hey, Mike,” he murmurs. “Hey, sleepyhead. What’s with all that sleeping, hmm, rookie? Are you going all Endymion on me here?”

Mike yawns and leans into the tender caress of Harvey’s hand. “I’m on vacation,” he nuzzles against Harvey’s palm. “I’m allowed.”

“Yeah, you are,” Harvey kisses into Mike’s hair before he gives Mike a good nudge with his elbow. “Now get up, lazy pants. I want to take you out to dinner, I’m sure Dimitri is already expecting us. And tonight, I want that late-night stroll along the beach, no excuses. Maybe we can go skinny-dipping. I’ve heard the water conditions are excellent and…”

After a shower and then dinner, Harvey gets his late-night stroll, and they do go into the water, but they forgo the skinny-dipping for the sake of the ridiculously colored bathing trunks Mike has bought for them at the little store at the marina just in case and which don’t keep them from making out like teenagers in the warm water at all.

The next day, they set sails again and sail around the island and through the caldera, and then they make their way between Sikinos and Ios to Milos, then, the next day, to Sifnos and from there to Naxos. From Naxos they take the route to Paros, and then to Mykonos, where Mike insists they party as it is customary on Mykonos, and the following morning Harvey swears he’ll never mix Retsina and Ouzo ever again. 

Of course, he breaks those vows again during the two days and nights they stay on Mykonos before they sail to Tinos and then to Andros and from there to Euboia, where the beaches are breathtaking and the Aegean is, as Harvey tells him, almost as blue as Mike’s eyes. 

The next leg of their journey takes them across the Aegean to Chios, where they see the mosaics of the Nea Moni monastery and spend two days just lazing around, and two nights filled with wine and candle light and soft breezes and their hands on their naked skin and their lips drinking the sunlight of the previous day from each other’s bodies, tasting salt and sweat, longing and love.

They leave Chios behind for Lesbos, where they see the petrified forest near Sigri and indulge in a night full of greedy, hungry fucking till the sun comes up before they set sails for Limnos a day later.

From Limnos they take the _Selene_ to Samothraki and from there to Thassos, the last leg of their cruise. They’ve made plans to leave the _Selene_ there and to fly back home from Thessaloniki after a few lazy beach days on the island. 

It’s been a little over six weeks since they started their trip on Crete, and their skin is tanned and their hair is as blond as wheat. The Aegean sun has woven itself into Harvey’s hair, and Mike can’t stop running his fingers through it every chance he gets, an obsession that makes Harvey smile with fond bewilderment.

The first day after their arrival on Thassos they spend relaxing at the beach roughly twenty miles away from Limenas, but the following day they board the ferry at Prinos that takes them to Kavala, where they visit the Archeological and the Maritime Museum. They take a scenic walk around town and, of course, along the ancient aqueduct and finally, they make their way to the House of Muhammad Ali and to the beautiful garden with the stunning view over the bay and the island of Thassos amidst the ridiculously glittering azure waters of the Aegean. The coffee they have there is amazing and they take their time sipping it and relaxing in the shadow under the trees.

They eat their dinner at a restaurant close to the water, meze and salad and seafood, and, as always, fantastic wine. 

“Just one more day,” Mike says over their desserts, and he’s well aware that there is a melancholic note swinging in his words.

“Yeah,” Harvey says, wiping his mouth before reaching for his glass. “And then it’s back to New York.” He nods, as if to himself, and then he clears his throat. “Hey, Mike, there is something I’d like to talk to you about. When we’re back home—”

“Oh, no,” Mike sighs, but there is a bright, bemused smile on his face. “Not that job offer again. I’ve told you – I appreciate the offer, I really do, but I’m not coming to work for you. I really want to do that guide thing again. I like it.”

“It’s not about the job,” Harvey shakes his head softly. “It’s about this.” He reaches out and runs his fingertip gently over the ring on Mike’s hand, the ring he bought in Tangier just a couple of months earlier.

Mike looks up and frowns. “What about it?”

“I know that you knew what it meant when I gave it to you,” Harvey says and lets his finger trace the ring once more. “And I meant it when I gave it to you,” he adds after a short pause. “You know I did.”

“You…” Mike blinks. It feels as if time is standing still, as if there’s just Harvey and him. “You want out?” This can’t possibly be happening, not after the past six weeks, not on an evening like this. “But I thought—”

“Mike.” Harvey shakes his head and covers Mike’s hand with his. “I don’t want out. Never. It’s just… It’s just that I…” He draws in a short deep breath and clears his throat again.

Mike blinks again. It seems as if Harvey is actually nervous, and that is something Mike has almost never seen before.

“You—"

“Please let me finish,” Harvey gently cuts him short, a small smile playing on his lips. “It’s just that it occurred to me that I’ve never really asked, well, at least not properly. And you should be asked properly.”

“Oh,” Mike says, still not quite understanding what’s going on here. Then it begins to dawn on him. “ _Oh._ ”

Harvey lets go of his hand and holds his palm out to Mike. “May I borrow that ring for a moment?”

Mike’s eyes drop down to his hand and to the ring on his finger. He slowly pulls it off. His hand is tanned by the Aegean sun, and there’s a white band where the ring sat just seconds ago.

“You promise you’ll give it back, though?” He chuckles nervously, closing his fingers around the ring. “You’re going to give it back to me?”

“I will,” Harvey says, holding his hand out a little further. “Please?”

As if in slow motion, Mike places the ring into Harvey’s hand. He watches Harvey rise from his chair and smoothing his hands over his shirt and trousers before he takes a step to the side and then another one to where Mike is sitting.

“Are you going to— _oh_.”

Mike falls silent as he watches Harvey slowly get down on one knee. He can’t help but glance around, but the patio is almost empty except for them, there’s just a family of seven sitting a few tables away, and they’re pretty much minding their own businesses, so he lets out a shaky breath and locks eyes with Harvey.

Harvey smiles. Harvey smiles, and that’s for sure the most beautiful thing Mike has seen during their entire Aegean holiday. Harvey is more beautiful than the white houses of Santorini, more beautiful than the mosaics on Chios, more beautiful than both sunrise and sunset over any island they have visited on their trip.

“Michael James Ross – will you marry me?”

Mike can actually _feel_ the beaming smile that lights up his face even before he can see its reflection in Harvey’s eyes.

“Yes,” is all he can say. “Yes, of course. Of course, I will… Oh my god, Harvey, of course…”

Harvey nods. “Good. Now you can have your ring back.” He places the ring back on Mike’s finger and rises, still smiling like some kind of Greek god, only Mike can’t decide which one, so like all of them combined, probably, and some heroes as well.

Harvey rises and sits back down in his chair, and when Mike glances around, the woman on that other table, the one with the long blond hair, is surreptitiously – or maybe not quite so surreptitiously – nudging the young, dark-haired woman sitting next to her with a beaming smile on her face. She quickly nods at Mike and gives him a subtle wink before she returns her attention back to the conversation that is still very vividly going on at her table.

“It seems, the goddesses are smiling in our favor,” Harvey grins, his cheeks flushed with excitement and joy. In moments like this, Mike can clearly see Harvey as a child, as a little boy with a baseball glove that’s far too big for him and smudges of grass and mud on his jersey. He can see a child, Harvey’s son, and a little girl, too, maybe, and his heart swells with love. 

“Yeah, it seems they are,” Mike muses, tracing the ring on his finger carefully. “Harvey, I don’t know what to say.”

“Are you happy?”

“I’m over the moon,” Mike says, because that’s what he is. He’s over the moon that shines down on them over the bay of Kavala, Selene, and his pulse is at least as high as her chariot right now.

“So, I think we should set a date,” Harvey says, reaching for Mike’s hand again. “I don’t want to wait. I want you to get your picture on your wedding day, on our wedding day, while you’re still young and beautiful, and I think an October wedding would be—”

“Yes,” Mike says, looking down at their joined hands and then back into Harvey’s eyes. “I don’t want to wait either. You’re way older than I am after all and...” He laces his fingers with Harvey’s and shakes his head in wonderous amazement. “Holy shit, Harvey. We’re really doing this. I mean, it’s not that I ever had any doubts, but—sorry… We’re getting married.”

“We are,” Harvey says, nodding at Mike again. “I love you, Mike. I’ve loved you from the moment I first saw you, and I love you more and more each day, so much more, and I can’t wait to be yours.”

“Hey, wait,” Mike frowns a little, tilting his head and in vain trying to tone down his smile. “I thought you were mine already!”

“From the moment I saw you,” Harvey says, brushing his thumb over Mike’s skin like the gentlest of breezes. “And from here on to all eternity.”

Mike’s eyes prickle a little at the openness and honesty in Harvey’s words and at the prospect they carry. “As I am yours.”

Harvey swallows, and Mike loses himself in the glittering darkness of his eyes. “I’d like to reassure myself of that back on the boat, if you don’t mind,” he says, his voice soft with longing. 

“Not one bit,” Mike says, and he things he might sound just a little hoarse. “I’d like that.”

They rise from their table, and Harvey settles the bill and he never lets go of Mike’s hand on the taxi ride to Keramoti where they barely catch the last ferry to Thassos, not once. Back on the _Selene_ , after another short cab ride on the island, they spend their last night in Greece in each other’s arms, feasting on each other until they fall asleep fulfilled and satisfied. 

Their flight back to New York doesn’t take off until the next evening, so they have time for breakfast on Thassos before they hand over the keys to the _Selene_ to the local yacht agency’s representative and leave for Thessaloniki. They’ve their day in the city loosely planned and their luggage has already been collected

“She was a good boat,” he says, looking back one last time. “An amazing boat. Not quite the _Cassidy_ , but…”

“Every boat that has you on it is a great boat,” Harvey says and turns his head around one last time as well. “I thought you knew that.”

“Yeah, tell me that again when the _Sundance_ needs her next paint job come Spring,” Mike grins. “I’m telling you, that’s not going to be such fun.”

“But it will take us back to Gib,” Harvey says, smiling. “And we will be married by then, so I’m fine with that.”

An image flashes before Mike’s eyes, Harvey in jeans and a t-shirt, a paintbrush in his hand and his hair starting to bleach from the sun again after a couple of days on the Rock, a speck of paint on his cheek, accompanied by a distant, happy smile.

“Yeah,” he says, grinning at Harvey over the roof of the car before they both climb inside. “Yeah. Me, too.”

 

~fin~

**Author's Note:**

> I'm [sal-si-puedes](http://sal-si-puedes.tumblr.com/) on tumblr. Come and say "Hi!"!


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